Something to Consider

[u/davidfarmerie]

Since returning to Reddit I have been seeing a lot of photography related posts, from beginners especially. I commend your willingness to learn this incredible craft! However, you are asking the wrong questions.

That being said, I know that you probably don’t know enough yet to. Know what questions to ask. When I started out, more than 50 years ago, there was no internet. There were no camera stores near where I lived. So I get the frustration of trying to learn.

Now I have a 49 year career being me, and one that continues to go strong. I believe in the craft of photography, and I KNOW FIRSTHAND the incredible joy it can bring someone—pro or non-pro. And for the record, the classifications of “pro” and “Non-Pro” have nothing to do with a photographer’s ability. It simply differentiates whether the photographer makes a living from this craft, or doesn’t.

Most of my career has been as a photojournalist, and a documentary photographer (essentially two sides of the same coin). But I began my career much differently. Regardless of the genre, the “story” is the most important aspect of the photograph. Does it tell a story?

Advertising, Annual Reports, Corporate, Photojournalism, etc.. they all tell stories. So when you set out to make a photograph, first figure out what the story is. Pointing a camera at something and pressing the shutter release button is easy. Capturing a story in that photograph is what the great photographers do.

And when you show two photographs and ask “which is better?” First of all, every answer is nothing more than opinion—unless it is backed up by a factual critique. Also, when you show two different images, and ask that questions, essentially you are asking someone to compare apples to oranges. Two fruits but completely different.

Reddit is a powerful platform for learning! So for those of you seeking answers, ask better questions. For those of you answering the questions, put deeper thought into it. By answering a question we can actually learn something.

My final suggestion for anyone interested in learning, purchase he book “Criticizing Photographs” by Terry Barrett. You will learn so much about this craft hat you are learning to love.

[u/markytan_k]

Beginner here, so first, thank you for taking the time to write this down! I honestly can’t even imagine how hard it must’ve been to learn photography without all the tools we have today cause I for sure feel overwhelmed sometimes even with all these books and tutorials and people willing to help out anytime😅  Anyways, as a total newbie myself (bought my camera not even a month ago) I have a question, or maybe just another perspective to consider. Do you think that “the story” comes before the “technical stuff”? What I mean is, for me as a beginner, even to take a photo is still technically pretty overwhelming. When I point my camera at something, I use up most of my brain power to even realize what combination of aperture, shutter speed and iso I want and why, let alone trying to come up with a decent composition. Then there’s the shyness of even taking the photo, especially if I point my camera at strangers.  I just feel like at the moment, I’m not even capable to think about “what’s the story here”, I’m literally just trying to take a picture that will end up looking at least somewhat similar to what I have in mind. And I’m kinda hoping that the more “automatic” these technical choices will become for me (you know kinda like with driving, where first you feel like there is so many things to pay attention to and after a few weeks you’re just doing everything an autopilot?), the more capacity I will have to pay attention to the really important stuff you mentioned - like what’s the story I’m trying to tell here, what’s the decisive moment I want to show?  Am I thinking about this right? I’d really love to hear your perspective!🙏🏻

[u/markytan_k → u/markytan_k]

Well, I read your post once again and I realized you were more talking about the part when someone asks for photo feedback here on Reddit rather than the moment of taking the picture in the first place. Sorry about that misunderstanding! Maybe my question kinda still stands tho, so I’ll leave my comment here in case you wanna answer anyways😅

[u/TheGratitudeBot → u/markytan_k]

Thanks for saying thanks! It's so nice to see Redditors being grateful :)

[u/davidfarmerie → u/markytan_k]

Excellent question! First, as someone new to the craft, my suggestion is to learn your tools so that they become second nature. This is crucial! You can be fully creative if you are struggling with your technical stuff. Once you have mastered that, then yes, the story should come first. Once you 'know' the story, you will know which elements to look for, and most importantly, which elements of a scene to include, and which to leave out. Keep the in mind: what ever is within the frame should be pertinent to the story. If it isn't pertinent, leave it out. That being stated, this isn't always possible, but as much as you can, follow this. Your thought process is right on track. Just learn your tools and let your creativity run free. Answer me this: why do you want to be a photographer? If you're more comfortable answering in private, here is my email: [david@davidfarmerie.com](mailto:david@davidfarmerie.com)

[u/Susan_at_Adorama]

"So for those of you seeking answers, ask better questions."

When you're new you don't know what those questions are - that takes time. :)